Caribbean News
Jamaica Strengthens Climate Action
#Jamaica, May 12, 2022 – Jamaica has updated its Climate Change and Emissions Policy frameworks to effectively respond to climate change impacts and support transformative action to ensure environmentally sound management of emissions.
The revised frameworks, which define Jamaica’s goals, strategies and key activities/measures for implementation, were approved by Cabinet as Green Papers in February 2021.
Since then, the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, through its Environmental and Risk Management
Branch, has engaged with the public on the contents, while refining the documents.
Minister Without Portfolio in the Ministry, with responsibility for the environment, climate change, water and the blue and green economies, Senator the Hon. Matthew Samuda, said the public engagement has allowed the Ministry to “benefit from significant input from several stakeholders, including youth representatives, environmental practitioners, transport and energy experts”.
Speaking at a virtual townhall on the documents recently, he explained that the 2015 Climate Change Policy Framework was revised and updated to reflect a greater focus on climate change mitigation and action and align with the goals outlined in the Paris Agreement to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and Jamaica’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
“The updated framework speaks, specifically, to addressing the detrimental effects of climate change,” he noted.
The Climate Change Policy Framework, at the time of its development seven years ago, focussed on the establishment of a sustainable institutional mechanism to coordinate climate action in Jamaica.
Chief among its objectives was the mainstreaming of climate change considerations into national policies and development planning and to build the country’s capacity to implement climate change adaptation and mitigation activities.
Since then, several developments have taken place that have necessitated updates to the policy.
The primary change is the fact that Jamaica became a signatory to and ratified the Paris Agreement in 2017, which has strengthened global climate action.
The 2015 Agreement sets out a global framework to avoid dangerous climate change by limiting global warming to well below two degrees Celsius and pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
A central aim of the Agreement is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change as well as the ability of countries to deal with the impacts.
Acting Senior Director of the Environmental Risk Management Branch at the Ministry, Nicole O’Reggio, said that the updated Climate Change Policy Framework places greater focus on mitigation, research, data collection and technology transfer needs.
She noted that the revised policy has three goals – to strengthen Jamaica’s adaptive capacity and resilience to reduce its vulnerability to climate change; pursue low carbon development and enhance access to and mobilisation of climate finance; and third, to promote public education and awareness relating to research and technology transfer towards climate action.
She said there is also an objective of “improving the governance framework for climate action and ensuring transparency and accountability”.
Meanwhile, the Emissions Policy Framework puts forward several objectives, strategies, and actions to improve the mechanisms that govern air quality management.
Manager of the Air Quality Branch of the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), Shannen Sacra, noted that the policy provides directives on how the State will approach its responsibilities, to ensure that the management of emissions is environmentally sound.
“[This includes] a monitoring, reporting and evaluation framework, which identifies roles and responsibilities for the coordinated execution of the policy,” she said.
“Also, we want to say that we are going to focus on outdoor air pollution as opposed to air pollution within households,” she continued.
Ms. Suckra said this will include addressing the management of emissions from industrial processes such as power generation; land, air and sea transportation; waste disposal and treatment; land use and biomass; burning of agricultural by-products; and residential and commercial sources.
Additionally, she said the Ministry will seek to develop and implement an Air Shed Management Plan and increase public education about air quality issues to facilitate participation in the protection of health and the built environment.
“We want to provide and make available, data and information on emissions of air pollutants, including the annual ambient air-quality reports. So, we want the public to be armed with the requisite information so that they can actively participate in the decision-making process,” she noted.
Additional air-quality regulations can be found under the Natural Resources Conservation Authority Act, Public Health Nuisance Regulations, the Clean Air Act, Country Fires Act, and the Road Traffic Act.
The updated frameworks are available for viewing on the Ministry’s website at www.megjc.gov.jm/policies/.
Contact: Chanel Spence
Release: JIS
KINGSTON, April 24 (JIS):
Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, has declared Jamaica a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) island with a vision of fostering innovation, driving economic growth, and empowering citizens to thrive in the global knowledge economy.
“Through our collaborative all-hands-on-deck approach, Government, private sector, academia and civil society, we will work towards this goal. Jamaica is now officially declared a STEM island,” he said.
Prime Minister Holness was addressing the Future Ready International Conference held at the University of Technology (UTech) in Kingston on April 24.
As a STEM island, he said that the Government will seek to implement comprehensive education reforms from the primary to the tertiary levels, with the objective of developing a skilled workforce, capable of competing in global markets.
He said that ecosystems will be developed to encourage startups, entrepreneurs, and innovators in the STEM disciplines to drive industry and economic growth, as well as to address social issues.
“We will encourage the growth of STEM industries such as biotechnology, information technology and advanced manufacturing. We will also leverage STEM to grow and monetise the musical, artistic, cultural and other natural talents of our people. We will leverage STEM solutions to address environmental challenges including climate change, renewable energy and sustainable agriculture,” the Prime Minister said.
“We will position Jamaica as a hub for STEM research, innovation, collaboration and other developments in the Caribbean and beyond,” he added.
The Prime Minister said that by embracing STEM as a national priority, Jamaica will unlock its full potential driving prosperity, peace and productivity in a sustainable, equitable way for all our Jamaican citizens and, indeed, the world,” Holness said.
KINGSTON, April 29 (JIS):
Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Senator the Hon. Matthew Samuda, says the outcome of discussions arising from the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) will assist in guiding the Government’s planning for climate change.
This, he points out, is important for climate mitigation as well as building Jamaica’s resilience.
“We look forward to the discussions that will, no doubt, take place. We look forward to the basis of planning for the Government to streamline its investments to ensure you have the tools that you need to better advise us, that the WRA (Water Resources Authority) has the tools to digitise its monitoring network, and that all of the agencies that touch our planning mechanisms have the tools. But we need to know what we are facing, and we’re guided by your expertise,” Minister Samuda said.
He was addressing the opening ceremony for the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in New Kingston on Monday (April 29).
Senator Samuda said given the fact that the climate has changed and continues to do so, investments in and collaborations on building Jamaica’s predictive and scientific capacity must be prioritised.
“Ultimately, we need to be able to assess our current climatic realities if we are to better plan, if we’re to insist and ensure that our infrastructure meets the needs that we need it to. I’m very happy that this event is happening… because this is a critical issue.
“Jamaica, last year, faced its worst and most severe drought… and this year, we’re already seeing the impacts of not quite as severe a drought but, certainly, a drought with severe impacts, especially in the western part of the country,” he said.
Principal Director, Meteorological Service of Jamaica, Evan Thompson, explained that the forum aims to, among other things, establish a collaboration platform for climate services providers and users to understand risks and opportunities of past, present and future climate developments, as well as improve inter-agency coordination of policies, plans and programmes.
Among the other presenters were Ambassador, European Union to Jamaica, Her Excellency Marianne Van Steen; Chief Scientist/Climatologist, Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology, Adrian Trotman; and Head, Regional Climate Prediction Services, World Meteorological Organization, Wilfran Moufouma-Okia.
The Meteorological Service of Jamaica hosted the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) in partnership with the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology and the World Meteorological Organization.
The National Stakeholder Consultation is a governance mechanism that guides how different sectors or actors work together to create products that contribute to adaptation and resilience-building. It seeks to create a road map for the development and implementation of climate services to inform decision-making.
NCF-1 aims to bridge the gap between climate providers and users. It increases the use of science-based information in decision-making and operations with the aim of generating and delivering co-produced and co-designed products and services.
CONTACT: CHRIS PATTERSON
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